Artwork and Musings from my Dancing Heart

“All’s Right with the World” Eating Biscuits and Gravy

Standard

At table

After 11 years in Florida, I’m fast becoming a Southern Belle. Even before moving south, I was a fan of grits, Texas style that is. We used to eat them with enchiladas and salad. Laden with cheese and drizzled with Tobasco Sauce to give them a bite, they lent a festive air to our Mexican table.

Now a bowl of grits calms my nervous stomach and provides a gluten-free alternative that lasts for hours. I love biscuits and gravy, too, when I can get them. But let me remind you, there are biscuits and then there are biscuits; and until I scope out a place, I will not order this dish.

The first time I tasted this down home treat was at a church fund raiser. One of the members had volunteered to make biscuits and gravy because it was his favorite meal. We all praised him and asked for his recipe, but he refused, saying it was “an old family recipe.” After the party was over, he laid it on us that the Chef had been Costco. He’s a jokester by nature, and we never knew for sure which story was true?

Through the years, I’ve had dry biscuits, flavorless ones, and some that were way overcooked. The perfect biscuit must be moist, light, fluffy, and slathered in butter or sausage gravy. If you’re a lazy cook like my friend, you’ll want to purchase Costco’s sausage gravy in the freezer section. Scrumptious!

If memory serves me, I think it was the Roadhouse Restaurant that came up with the winning biscuit. They were divine. If I’m wrong – sue me! (Just kidding)

Food is a necessity. We can’t live without it for long. Because of its importance, competition is keen. To get the most nutrition in our diets, mothers, grandmothers and restaurateurs cajole us, tantalize our taste buds, and delight us with freshness and color. Ever notice how happy people are when their tummies are full of their favorite foods? They become docile teddy bears. People should spend more time chatting over a leg of mutton than bickering in beer halls.

Family at Joe’s Crab Shack

If there were less hungry people in the world, perhaps there would be fewer wars. There’s nothing like a gnawing stomach to keep you mean and ornery and awake at night. Bread truly is the staff of life and everyone should have access to it. Grains are easy to grow and simple to grind into flour. Nothing fills the belly like breads, cereals, beans and legumes; complex proteins that provide everything we need. Even the sprouts from these grains can become a salad or vegetable that contains vitamins A and C.

Why do the ordinary things in life have to be so complicated? Why can’t more people eat biscuits and gravy? Add some turnip greens and you have a meal fit for a King. Take some black-eyed peas, a joint of ham, a few vegetables, and you’ll not only sleep through the night, you’re likely to purr like a kitten.